Women’s slalom postponed because of gusty winds at Winter Olympics

Nancy Armour | USA TODAY Sports

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Here we go again. Or don’t go.

The women’s slalom, scheduled for Wednesday morning, was postponed until Friday because of blustery conditions. It’s the second time Mikaela Shiffrin’s first race at the Pyeongchang Olympics has been delayed after the giant slalom was pushed back Monday because of high winds. The giant slalom now is scheduled for Thursday.

The slalom, originally scheduled to start at 10:15 a.m. local time, was pushed back an hour early Wednesday morning. But after an inspection of the course, organizers said the first run would only be delayed by 15 minutes. But that became a half hour and then 75 minutes before it was eventually called off for the day.

Shiffrin is the defending champion in the slalom, and is a favorite for gold in that event, the giant slalom and Alpine combined. She’s also considered a medal favorite in the downhill and Super-G, should she race them. The American, who is the reigning World Cup overall champion, has said she hopes to do all five events but will decide later in the Games. The postponements aren’t likely to help that because it further compresses the race schedule.

If there are no more delays, Shiffrin currently is looking at racing three days in a row: the giant slalom Thursday, the slalom Friday and the Super-G on Saturday. While that’s no different from a World Cup event, those races would be quickly followed by the downhill (Feb. 21) and the combined (Feb. 23).